The currently-available home gym equipment for two types of exercises, (1) assisted pushups and (2) situps, have notable deficiencies. These problems are compounded by the limited budgets and strict space constraints that are faced by many consumers who wish to use home-based exercise equipment.
Pushups are common exercises for improving their upper body strength. One recommendation for improving pushup performance is to do pushups with multiple levels of exertion. This can be accomplished by performing pushups at varying angles, from nearly horizontal, for example with hands and toes on a level floor, up to some higher angle, for example with hands at an elevated position relative to toes. A pushup performed with hands at an elevated position is often called an assisted pushup, because the elevated starting position of the hands makes a pushup easier to perform.
Many outdoor par courses, which are running trails that have strength and flexibility exercise stations at a series of sites along the trail, will have a pushup station with typically 3 pushup bars at differing heights. The user can grasp one of the bars, to keep their hands out of the dirt, and attempt to perform a recommended number of pushups. As users gain upper body strength, they may progressively move from the highest bar, which provides the greatest assistance, to the lowest bar, which provides the least assistance.
Unfortunately, the pushup bars at par courses are public, so they may be crowded; they tend to be outdoors, which limits use during inclement weather; they may not be conveniently located, which limits their availability; and they are too large to fit within the amount of space that is dedicated to most home gyms. Therefore, assisted pushup equipment that overcame all of these limitations, while providing multiple levels of assistance, would be desirable.
A situp is another common exercise, and it also presents challenges. For most people, it is difficult to keep feet on the floor when performing situps, and this can negatively impact the benefit of the exercise. Several solutions exist: a partner who holds the exerciser's ankles; a bench with an ankle-holding bar at one end, under which someone can place their feet; a bar that is held in place in a doorway or under a door itself; and a bar that is attached to a wall.
Unfortunately, someone who lacks a reliable exercise partner, does not have space for a situp bench, cannot find a conveniently-located doorway, and who doesn't want to drill holes in walls of their house, cannot use any of these existing solutions. Therefore, ankle-holding situp equipment that overcame all of these limitations, while accommodating multiple sizes of feet for different users, would be desirable.
There has been a failure of others to provide a solution that solves all of the above-mentioned problems simultaneously, which is also highly compact when stored, can be furnished for a low cost, and yet additionally provides for a third functionality, in order to maximize cost efficiency for home gym users.